Exploring new ideas about how we can live and die in an age of complex change.
Selected, published writing and research.
This Too Shall Pass: Collective mourning in the age of Covid-19
Collective Psychology Project
with Alex Evans and Casper ter Kuile
We argue that in conditions of such widespread loss as the ones we now face, it’s essential that we grieve well - and that this means doing so collectively, not just on our own.
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Designing systems of care for a modern death
Lancet Commission on the Value of Death
In order to meaningfully transform our relationship with death and dying – to make it more human-centred, socially-connected and interconnected – we need to take a more relational approach to end of life that encompasses the wider, non-medical ecosystems of care. In other words, we need to take a systemic approach to end of life care.
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A trip beyond fear: psychedelics and the end of life
Open Democracy
with Rosanna Ellis, Sam Gandy and Eddie Jacobs
We explore how a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that psychedelic substances such as psilocybin - the active ingredient in so-called ‘magic mushrooms’ - could have an important role to play in addressing the psychological and spiritual aspects of end-of-life care in ways that currently go unmet.
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An atmosphere of grief: living with loss in the Anthropocene
This two-part essay describes how we are living through the sixth mass extinction that many people are experiencing profound feelings of loss and grief. However, more than being a monumental one-off in human civilisation, these feelings and experiences have echoes to previous events in human history.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Last orders: pain relief at the end of life
Why we need to re-think what pain is and how drugs can help.
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The latest challenge in design? Create a better way to die
Quartz